Raiders notebook: Oakland Raiders defense held when it needed to

HOUSTON -- Raiders linebacker Kevin Burnett conceded he could have done with a little less drama.

"You'd prefer for it not to be close, let's be honest,'' Burnett said following a 28-23 win over the Houston Texans on Sunday at Reliant Stadium. "But if it is, you'd like the game to be on your shoulders when it comes down to winning a game.''

After setting up two touchdowns with takeaways in the first quarter, the Raiders held the Texans to two field goals --30 and 26 yards -- by Randy Bullock despite Houston possessions in the fourth quarter that reached the 8-, 12- and 2-yard lines.

On the Texans' last possession, reinstated starting quarterback Matt Schaub and his team faced third-and-1 at the 2-yard line only to have Burnett throw Ben Tate for a 1-yard loss. A false start by Brandon Brooks pushed the ball to the 8, and Schaub threw incomplete to Andre Johnson, allowing the Raiders to kill the clock with 1:15 remaining.

"The third-down play was huge to get it to fourth down,'' Raiders coach Dennis Allen said. "I'm proud of those guys in there. I'm proud of the way they kept their head up.''

Schaub, the deposed starter who entered for Case Keenum in the third quarter, said, "We had a few shots at it and then the penalty backed us up. We took a shot in the end zone for a chance to make a play and they made the play.''

Advertisement

With the Raiders offense getting season highs in points and touchdowns, free safety Charles Woodson said it was imperative for the defense to hold up its end.

"Defensively, that's our job, to go there and finish it if it's our opportunity to win the game,'' Woodson said. "I mean, we did a great, great job down there in the red zone, getting off the field with a win.''

Woodson forced two fumbles, including one returned 26 yards by Nick Roach to set up a touchdown, but was also victimized in the first half when Keenum was pressured to his right and found Garrett Graham for a 42-yard TD pass to tie the score 14-14.

"He was able to scramble, and you're looking at the quarterback then thinking, 'Oh (no). There's a guy still running (free),' '' Woodson said. "You put that on me. I've got to stay as deep as the deepest man, and they made a play.''

Punter Marquette King, going head-to-head with former Raider Shane Lechler, had 11 punts for a 49.1 gross average and a 37.7 net with four punts inside the 20-yard line. His first two punts were for 64 and 62 yards.

Houston return specialist Keshawn Martin had an 87-yard punt return after he lost the ball briefly, which may have altered the approach of Phillip Adams and Taiwan Jones in coverage.

Lechler also had a 49.1 gross average with a long of 60 yards, with a 41.1 net and two punts inside the 20-yard line.

Wide receiver Andre Holmes caught a 33-yard pass from Matt McGloin and nearly came down with another 40-yard pass but was ruled to not have possession. The ruling was upheld on a Raiders challenge.

"I felt like I had it, but it doesn't really matter because we got the win,'' Holmes said. "It felt good to get those opportunities to catch the ball down the field. Whenever that opportunity comes, you just grasp it and take it.''

The Raiders have scored touchdowns on their first possession five times this season.